Construction expected to begin on new Peace House campus next month

Summit County Council recently granted a 90-day extension for groundbreaking

A rendering depicts the design of the new multi-million dollar Peace House facility, which will be located between the Summit County Health Department and the Park City Hospital.

A complete redesign and other unexpected changes in the overall costs of building the new Peace House facility have again delayed its completion.

The new multi-million dollar Peace House facility, which will be situated between the Summit County Health Department and Park City Medical Center on Round Valley Drive in Quinn's Junction, is not expected to open until late 2018. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in August 2015.

Doug Clyde, project manager, blamed the postponement on a "long and complicated design process" that took longer than anticipated. He said the necessary permits have been obtained through Park City Municipal.

Wednesday, the Summit County Council granted the project a 90-day extension on groundbreaking. Clyde, who also sits on the Council, recused himself from the discussion. In an interview with The Park Record, Clyde declined to comment on the total cost or the funding sources for the project.

"The extension was required because in the original funding agreement with the county they wanted to make sure that the Peace House was proceeding in a timely fashion," Clyde said. "They gave us three targets that we had to hit: acquire a site, acquire a permit for the site, which was our conditional-use permit we received a little over a year ago, and break ground."

More than five years ago, the Peace House executive board began contemplating an overhaul of the system and the services it provides to victims, including transitional and emergency housing, in a more public setting. The shelter currently provides short-term housing to victims at an undisclosed location in Park City.

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The organization has been dedicated to providing shelter, programs and case management to Wasatch and Summit county victims while they recover from abusive relationships since the early 1990s after a woman was shot in the parking lot of a local grocery store.

"The building is so complex because we are integrating different levels of security so that it is a secure campus," Clyde said. "One of the major changes for the Peace House is that this will be their public presence in the city and, that is part of their overall goal, which is to make the public more aware of domestic violence.

"By making the public more aware and by involving members of the community and volunteers, part of the effort is prevent domestic violence from beginning," he said.

The two-story, 42,000-square-foot facility will include an indoor recreation and child-care center, office space, a courtyard, community and counseling rooms and secure, enclosed parking. It will have 22 housing units, with eight units for emergency shelter, 12 units for traditional housing and two units for employees, which are considered affordable units.

Clyde said he still anticipates construction to begin in June. He said it will be a 16-month build.

Roger Armstrong, County Council member, said the county established the deadlines for the project to make sure the funds were used diligently.

"I think they have been moving this project forward diligently," Armstrong said before the council unanimously agreed to grant the extension.